About Narratives Books

Narratives is distinguished for its publications offering strategic analyses and solutions to the challenges facing Pakistan, such as insecurity and violence, militancy, radicalism and intrastate and inter-state conflicts in Pakistan and the wider region.

Narratives pledges to expand knowledgebase on social, cultural, political and developmental themes of contemporary relevance to Pakistan and its society.

Narratives strive to offer creative and innovative publications with strengths in academic, research-based and alternative narratives.

For centuries, its inhabitants’ songs of love and natural lyrics of birds and waterfalls have remained a cultural element of life in Pakistan’s northwestern mountainous tribal region. The local folk tales of love and beautiful verses of classical poets, which are sung with different locally made musical instruments, have been providing the tribesmen with cultural and spiritual substance to celebrate life. In recent years, however, this region has experienced such a barbarism and brutality that has destroyed not only physical infrastructure and killed scores of people but also blemished the bright local traditions. This long short story by Dr Khadim Hussain is a historical narrative of two peculiar stages of life in this region; before and after it sank into turmoil and violence.